"You've truly put in a lot of effort, Lord Snow Empress."
Bai Lao sighed with emotion: "What the Master lacks is not offensive ability, but means of self-preservation."
With powerful subordinates like Snow Empress, Ice Empress, and Peng Peng providing close protection, Lord Bai Luo actually doesn't lack combat power at all.
Sending out any one of them is equivalent to unleashing a powerful ultimate move.
They are inherently Lord Bai Luo's strength; there's no reason why he must personally enter the fray for it to count as his own action.
"Thanks, Snow Empress."
"Between you and me, why speak of thanks."
Snow Empress: "Come on, let's continue our training."
Providing Lord Bai Luo with means of self-preservation was Snow Empress's most urgent priority.
And beyond that, it was to stimulate Lord Bai Luo's combat potential, so that he would no longer be a weakness, but the strongest in the team!
As her, Snow Empress's, master, how could Lord Bai Luo be weaker than her?
Having a sword but not using it, and having no sword to use, are two different concepts.
Lord Bai Luo not needing to fight doesn't mean he can't fight.
When enemies finally break through the interception of Snow Empress, Peng Peng, and others, and finally arrive before Lord Bai Luo, they will discover that he is the strongest.
This was Snow Empress's ultimate goal in training Lord Bai Luo's combat skills and instincts.
"Good."
Lord Bai Luo did not decline, nor would he disappoint Snow Empress's good intentions.
The battle ended, and Lord Bai Luo still couldn't defeat Snow Empress.
Lord Bai Luo, however, was indifferent to this.
Previously, Egui Peng was stronger than him, and now there was Snow Empress as well; there was no difference.
Lord Bai Luo was not a masochist.
If there's an easy path to take, why not take it and insist on striving hard himself?
"You've worked hard, Lord Bai Luo."
Zhu Cai brought a bento box filled with many dishes she had personally prepared.
The ingredients were wild delicacies from the Great Forest, and after Zhu Cai's cooking, they were incredibly delicious, so much so that even Ice Empress and Snow Empress, who had little interest in human food, liked them very much.
"Boneh~~"
Egui Peng came running from afar, bouncing and skipping.
Because she had just come out of the paddy field, the girl left muddy, dark footprints behind her with every step.
"Ah, ah!"
"Wait, Peng Peng, stop quickly!"
"Boneh?"
"Really, how can you enter the house all dirty?"
Zhu Cai quickly stepped forward and summoned water to wash Egui Peng's hands and feet.
After this period of getting along, the Great Ogre Clan in the village had become familiar with Egui Peng's personality and character.
She was just an innocent and kind little girl.
In terms of strength, Egui Peng was indeed unmatched among the ogres, but in terms of temperament, they completely treated her as the ogre mascot and took care of her.
Especially Zhu Cai, the two of them had a relationship as good as biological sisters.
"Wash this foot too, and over here, ooh, so comfortable~~"
Egui Peng didn't mind at all being treated like a child, and she even regarded Zhu Cai, who was good at taking care of people, as an older sister: "Thank you, Zhu Cai."
"Mmm~~"
"Next time, be more careful, you're always so clumsy."
Zhu Cai dotingly stroked Egui Peng's head, while handing the specially made sandwich to the girl.
Egui Peng took the sandwich, took a bite, and her eyes immediately lit up: "Delicious!!!"
"Hmm, this rice ball is also very tasty."
Egui Peng: "But I still prefer curry rice."
"Okay, I'll make it for you next time."
"Oh, oh, oh!"
There was a lot of food in the basket, some Japanese-style, and some Chinese cuisine.
Zhu Cai usually enjoyed researching these things, and Lord Bai Luo's preferences were her main focus of study.
In the original work, Zhu Cai was not strong in combat, yet she was still Rimuru's second-in-command, and there was a reason for that.
With her excellent logistical and coordination abilities as a great housekeeper, with Zhu Cai holding down the fort at the base camp, even if Lord Bai Luo wasn't there, their foundation wouldn't fall into chaos.
"Gulp, gulp."
After eating, Lord Bai Luo drank the freshly squeezed juice Zhu Cai had prepared, looking at the prosperous and lively scene in the village, a sense of peace filled his heart.
The Jura Great Forest was vast, containing many scenic and beautiful places.
The Great Ogre Clan's village was nestled by mountains and rivers, rarely engaging in conflicts with the outside world.
It was peaceful and tranquil here, very suitable for retirement.
'If I didn't have the Traveler ability, living in the Great Ogre Clan's village for a long time would eventually make me lose the will to fight.'
'However, I can go on adventures to other worlds.'
Explore outside, and when tired, return to this village for recuperation and relaxation.
"Lord Bai Luo, this is the village's subsequent construction plan, please take a look."
Mornings were for Lord Bai Luo and Snow Empress's morning training, while afternoons were dedicated to handling official duties.
The official duties were not complicated, mostly concerning resource consumption, construction plans, and directions and goals for external expansion, and so on.
Lord Bai Luo didn't need to consider the specific details.
What he needed to do was grasp the general direction.
"Tell me in detail, Zhu Cai."
"Alright."
Zhu Cai clasped her hands in front of her lower abdomen and then reported to Lord Bai Luo the changes in the village over the past half month.
"First, with Peng Peng leading the way, the monsters within a 50-kilometer radius have been completely cleared out."
"The remaining monsters, more or less, possess a certain level of intelligence."
"According to your request, intelligent monsters are allowed to live in this land as long as they do not actively attack."
Zhu Cai didn't understand, but she wholeheartedly agreed with Lord Bai Luo's idea.
Everyone has the right to live; being strong doesn't mean you have to exterminate the weak.
147
Hunting magical beasts is different because magical beasts are purely brainless monsters that cannot communicate at all.
However, if magical beasts could understand the Great Ogre Clan, both sides could coexist peacefully.
In contrast, even with the lowest intelligence, monsters still follow some basic rules.
This allowed the village, including the forest and fields within a fifty-mile radius, to develop a completely new ecosystem.
"It's just that the village's development has reached its limit at this point."
Zhu Cai spread a map before Bai Luo: "Our Great Ogre Clan is the strongest monster tribe in this area."
"Further out, there are scattered Goblin villages and some intelligent monsters."
What needed to be discussed today was the problem of these Goblins.
"How to deal with Goblins?"
Bai Luo remembered that in the original work, Rimuru first subdued the Goblins in the forest and even bestowed names upon them.
Rimuru's magic essence was backed by the Storm Dragon, so even if it was depleted, it would quickly recover.
But Bai Luo didn't have such confidence.
His magic essence was limited, so even if he bestowed names, he would only choose the most outstanding and promising monsters.
However, this was only a matter of time.
After all, naming monsters could provide Bai Luo with more magic essence.
As long as they were willing to join Bai Luo's command and become his subjects, bestowing names would be a matter of time.